Anton Sculean will give first live EFP webinar, on treating gingival recessions

The EFP will hold its first live webinar on Tuesday 14 April in which Anton Sculean, former president of the federation and scientific chair of the recent Perio Master Clinic 2020, will present the ‘Bernese concept’ for treating gingival recessions.

Prof Sculean, professor of periodontology at the University of Bern in Switzerland, will present the approach to treating single and multiple gingival recessions that he and his colleagues at the university have developed.

The webinar, which takes place at 11:00 (CET), will be the first of a series called Perio Sessions in which leading figures from the EFP and its member societies will provide live presentations on key topics in periodontal science and clinical practice.

In this first webinar, Prof Sculean will explain the biologic rationale and treatment philosophy behind two techniques for soft-tissue reconstruction in different clinical scenarios: the modified coronally advanced tunnel (MCAT) and the more recently developed laterally closed tunnel (LCT). He will use clinical cases and surgical videos to give step-by-step demonstrations of both techniques.

“Predictable coverage of maxillary multiple adjacent recessions and of mandibular single and deep recessions is still a challenge for the clinician,” he explained. “Various factors such as tooth anatomy and position, recession depth and width, presence or absence of supporting bone, and thickness of the soft tissues may limit the management of soft tissues and consequently impair the outcomes.”

He said that there was “emerging evidence” that both the MCAT and LCT techniques, in conjunction with connective-tissue grafts and certain collagen-based soft-tissue grafts (alone or combined with enamel matrix proteins or hyaluronic acid) may result in predictable outcomes and long-term stability.

In addition, he added, “these techniques have also been successfully used for the treatment of recessions at crown-restored teeth, lingual recessions, and dental implants.”

Anton Sculean, who recently received the 2020 International Association for Dental Research (IADR) Distinguished Scientist Award for Research in Periodontal Disease, is professor and chair of the Department of Periodontology and executive director of the School of Dental Medicine at the University of Bern.

He is a world-renowned researcher and clinician in periodontology, with more than 370 peer-reviewed scientific articles published in leading journals, focusing on periodontal research and related disciplines.

His work centres on preclinical and clinical research related to periodontal wound healing, regenerative and plastic-aesthetic periodontal therapy, and the use of antibiotics, antiseptics, and novel approaches (such as lasers and photodynamic therapy) in the treatment of periodontal and peri-implant infections.

How to register

Full details of the webinar are provided on the ‘upcoming events’ page of the EFP website.

Invitations to register for the free webinar will be sent by email to all members of the 37 national societies of periodontology affiliated to the EFP.

Non-members can click on the email link on the events page to request that their email addresses are added to the list to receive this invitation and notification of future webinars.

After registration, confirmation emails will be sent with details of how to join the webinar. Only the first 1,000 participants to log in will be able to participate in the live event. However, the webinar will then be made available for viewing on the EFP’s YouTube channel.

Future webinars

The Perio Sessions live EFP webinars will each feature an introduction by a moderator, a 30-minute presentation, and a 15-minute moderated question-and-answer session. The moderator of the first webinar will be EFP secretary general Nicola West.

Following Anton Sculean’s presentation on the ‘Bernese concept’, the next webinar will take place on Thursday 23 April at 17:00 (CET) when Filippo Graziani (EFP president 2019-20) will give a presentation on “Periodontal surgery of complex defects”.

Prof Graziani will focus on the rationale and techniques available to perform periodontal surgery on teeth with periodontal defects that are associated with a poor prognosis. The main theme will be regenerative surgery and its rationale in cases with such defects.

Details of future Perio Sessions webinars will be provided in the coming days.